RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The share of the population that disapproves the Jair Bolsonaro government increased for the first time since March 2020, according to a survey released on Monday, January 18th, by XP Investments in partnership with the Social, Political and Economic Research Institute (IPESPE).
January’s survey points out that the share that considers the management as ‘poor or terrible’ rose from 35% to 40%. The rate is similar to the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic in the country, in April 2020. The share assessing the government administration as ‘excellent or good’ dropped from 38% to 32%.
It is the first time since July that the negative rating exceeds the positive.
According to XP Investments, the shift coincides with a deterioration in the perception of the President’s performance in tackling Covid-19. There are 52% who rate it as ‘poor or terrible’, 4 percentage points more than in December 2020.
The survey also points out that 50% of respondents argue that the government should redesign a benefit similar to the emergency aid for a few more months. However, only 27% say they believe the government will make this decision.
The benefit was introduced by the federal government throughout 2020 to mitigate the economic impact produced by the pandemic. However, Bolsonaro has been ruling out a new round of payments.
Immunization
Asked about the inclination to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, 69% say they will certainly be immunized. Among voters who declared they had voted for Bolsonaro in the last elections, 58% said they will definitely be vaccinated, while 78% of other voters confirmed such intention.
Elections
The data shows that Bolsonaro is ahead in the 2022 presidential race, both in spontaneous and stimulated surveys, when the names of the candidates are mentioned. The President reaches 28% of voting intentions, ahead of Sérgio Moro, his ex-Minister of Justice and Safety (12%), Ciro Gomes (11%) and Fernando Haddad (11%).
In the spontaneous survey, when no candidates are presented, Bolsonaro keeps the lead with 22% – below the December record, when he held 24% of voting intentions.
The January survey shows that Bolsonaro would lose to Moro in the second round, who would beat the current President by 36% to 33%. In the last survey, data suggested that the President would defeat his ex-Minister. However, Bolsonaro wins numerically in all other second round scenarios in which he is tested.